TheRetroCritic

With computer-generated effects having reached a noticeable level of sophistication in the mid-90's, more and more films decided to use CGI in a bold way including Jumanji and Casper , both released the same year. The latter also jumping on the old cartoon/comic-book remake bandwagon. While critics were generally lukewarm towards this movie, audiences flocked to it making Casper a significant box-office hit back in 1995. The film opens with the obligatory nod to the classic cartoons as a group of kids enter a creepy mansion, take one look at the typically friendly Casper and freak out completely. We are then introduced to paranormal therapist Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman) and his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci) as Casper encourages them to visit him and they are hired by shady haunted mansion owner Carrigan (Cathy Moriarty) to get rid of its ghosts once and for all. Casper takes a shine to Kat but his Ghostly Trio "uncles" Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso start to cause

20 years after Will Smith first punched an alien in the face in the original Independence Day , director Roland Emmerich brings us a belated sequel to one of the 90's biggest blockbusters. Independence Day: Resurgence brings back some familiar faces while adding some young blood to the cast as those pesky extraterrestrials come back with an updated plan to destroy the world with a giant spaceship. Having to follow such a simple concept must have made the writing not too much of a chore and, indeed, the story is one of this sequel's best elements: it's more of the same except we delve deeper into how those aliens work (a lot like bees, it turns out) plus meet a brand new entity who is both an ally and a liability. There's enough there in terms of danger and intrigue to keep even the most reluctant viewer interested throughout. Add to that a reliably good Jeff Goldblum, a dramatic character arc involving Bill Pullman's ex-President plus lots of mindless destruct

No, not THAT Braindead . (Peter Jackson's Dead Alive was actually called Braindead) (hence what I just said) This Brain Dead , however, is a cult B-movie starring the two Bills everyone confuses with each other: Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. The former being the US President with that awful speech in Independence Day , the latter being that badass vampire from Near Dark . There, now you're all up to speed. In this movie, Pullman plays a scientist with an impressive collection of brains in jars who is conducting weird experiments, to say the least. He specialises in the cerebral dysfunctions which cause mental illnesses so when an old pal, Paxton, who now works for some dodgy corporation, shows up and asks him to find out some crucial information from a paranoid schizophrenic, he is reluctant but agrees to help out anyway. The patient (played by Bud Cort), we're told, was once a brilliant mathematician and it's Pullman's job to find out what part of his bra